Zucchini and Tomato Galette With Parmesan

I’ll be honest, here: I had no idea what galette was until about six months ago. My younger sister, a culinary arts major, was at the kitchen counter making what seemed to be a strange-looking pizza. It had big slices of tomato on it, and lots of thyme and spices that I’d never seen on a pizza before.

“Why are you folding the crust over like that?” I asked.

“It’s a galette,” she answered, assuming that I was cultured enough to know what the hell that meant.

People over-estimate me, sometimes.

Once she explained to me that galette is not, in fact, a pizza, my imagination went running. It’s basically a crust that folds over top of itself, leaving only a portion of the filling exposed. It creates an envelope of crust in which the innards stay soft and the exposed portions gain a browned layer.

Inside that envelope you can put anything. Want it sweet? Blueberries, sugar, and butter make a great mix. Want it savory? Veggies, meats, and potatoes of all kinds can create a rich filling that’ll send you into a food coma.

I love versatile foods, and galette is probably one of the most versatile things I’ve ever come across. Americans have less and less time each year to spend in the kitchen, so having a recipe up our sleeves that can be adapted to anything that we have lying around our fridge is a must.

I personally prefer a savory galette, probably because the first one I ever tried was savory and it stuck. I like them to be cheesy, herb-y, and filled with healthy veggies.

This recipe embodies one of my favorite ways to fill a galette crust, but of course can be adapted to what you have in your fridge. For instance, if you do not have ricotta, I have found that you can substitute shredded mozzarella easily. If you have no zucchini to spare, diced and sauteed onions make a good replacement. These will change the texture, but the flavor will still maintain that cheesy quality that we’re aiming for.

I also chose to make this vegetarian, mainly because the veggies and the cheese already bring this galette to Maximum Overload status. However, if you’re a die-hard carnivore then you can replace one of the veggie layers with a meat layer (salami and cooked bacon are my personal favorites).

For crust, mix flour, salt, sugar, and spices in a medium-sized bowl. Dice the cold butter and add to mix. Use your hands to incorporate the butter until there are no big chunks of butter left and the flour has the texture of thick sand. Pour ice water over and mix to form dough (you can add more water by the tablespoon if it is too grainy to form a ball).

On a floured surface, knead a few times until smooth, about 1 minute. Roll out to about 1/4 inch thick disk, wrap with plastic wrap, refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 425.

Take out dough and, moving fast, roll out until it is equal to or less than 1/8 of an inch thick (basically just make it really thin). Add a layer of ricotta and spread, stopping about two inches from the edge. Do the same with the red sauce, parmesan cheese, zucchini, tomato, and mozzarella.

Take each edge and fold it over the top, using up the two inches of crust that we left uncovered before. You will want to pinch some of the corners so that it doesn’t come apart in the oven. Cook for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese and crust are browned.

Serve warm.

I love this recipe, especially since it can be adapted to seasonal offerings and because it’s so easy to make. If you have enough time for the dough to chill, you definitely have enough time to make this recipe. You can also double the crust recipe and keep the other half of it in the fridge (covered) for up to five days if you feel you’re going to want to make another one soon.

I hope all is well wherever you are, and that you’re enjoying good food with good people. It’s especially important at this time of year, when the holidays have ended and families tend to drift apart. If that’s the case in your life, then take this as a sign that you should call your friends and plan a dinner party.

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